Homebrew PCBs

I am currently etching a PCB with 2 parts peroxide to 1 part muriatic
acid.  It is cloudy and cool here and I am doing it outside to avoid
the fumes.  It seems like it is taking forever. I'm assuming it is the
temperature that is affecting the speed.  Has anyone used a crockpot
to warm the solution?

Update...It finished at 11:00.  Barely any copper came off in the
first 30 minutes, but then the etching made noticeable progress.  It
must be the cool temperature.  By the way, the crock pot that I am
thinking about using is a crock pot that I use for cleaning model
airplane engines, not making a yankee pot roast.

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "billshat44" <billshat44@...> wrote:

>
> I am currently etching a PCB with 2 parts peroxide to 1 part muriatic
> acid.  It is cloudy and cool here and I am doing it outside to avoid
> the fumes.  It seems like it is taking forever. I'm assuming it is the
> temperature that is affecting the speed.  Has anyone used a crockpot
> to warm the solution?
>

Please note that HCl has a low boiling point (somewhere just above
50°C). You do not want to heat this etchant too much.

ST

On Sat, Sep 6, 2008 at 7:31 PM, billshat44 <billshat44@...> wrote:
> Update...It finished at 11:00.  Barely any copper came off in the
> first 30 minutes, but then the etching made noticeable progress.  It
> must be the cool temperature.  By the way, the crock pot that I am
> thinking about using is a crock pot that I use for cleaning model
> airplane engines, not making a yankee pot roast.
>
> --- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "billshat44" <billshat44@...> wrote:
>>
>> I am currently etching a PCB with 2 parts peroxide to 1 part muriatic
>> acid.  It is cloudy and cool here and I am doing it outside to avoid
>> the fumes.  It seems like it is taking forever. I'm assuming it is the
>> temperature that is affecting the speed.  Has anyone used a crockpot
>> to warm the solution?
>>

*** Update ***
I did some research for a formula using H202 (Hydrogen Peroxide) and
HCL (Hydrochloric Acid or Muriatic Acid)and found out that I was using
too weak of H2O2 at 3%.  I had tried 3 times to etch a board using the
weaker H2O2 and had success twice but it took an extremely long time.
 In deja.com, I looked for "etching recipe" and 
found out there were different strengths of H2O2 available.  After
trying several different outlets (drug stores, medical houses,beauty
salons) I found a place called Sally Beauty Supply that carries
several different strengths of peroxide (20%,30%, and 40%) in
different sized containers (quart half gallon, gallon.)
They also sell acetone in plastic jugs which will make it easier to
get into instead of the pry cap on the metal cans.  Anyway, I came
home, mixed up 2 peroxide to 1 HCL and put my 6X4 board in.  10
minutes later, I had an etched board.  Yipee. It was fun to watch the
board etch away.  Halfway through the etching process, it started to
develop oxygen (I think).  Air would develop on the bottom of the
board in the etching solution and bring the board to the surface.  The
air would burp out from the edges of the board and it would sink
again. It did this for a 2 or 3 minutes.  During the last minute of
etching, you could see the copper literally being melted off of the
board.  I feel much better now knowing that I can etch boards in a
more timely manner.  I was beginning to think there was something
wrong with me that I couldn't etch a board quickly using the HCL, H202
method like everyone else in this group.
--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Trethan"
<stefan_trethan@...> wrote:
>
> Please note that HCl has a low boiling point (somewhere just above
> 50°C). You do not want to heat this etchant too much.
> 
> ST
> 
> On Sat, Sep 6, 2008 at 7:31 PM, billshat44 <billshat44@...> wrote:
> > Update...It finished at 11:00.  Barely any copper came off in the
> > first 30 minutes, but then the etching made noticeable progress.  It
> > must be the cool temperature.  By the way, the crock pot that I am
> > thinking about using is a crock pot that I use for cleaning model
> > airplane engines, not making a yankee pot roast.
> >
> > --- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "billshat44" <billshat44@>
wrote:
> >>
> >> I am currently etching a PCB with 2 parts peroxide to 1 part muriatic
> >> acid.  It is cloudy and cool here and I am doing it outside to avoid
> >> the fumes.  It seems like it is taking forever. I'm assuming it
is the

> >> temperature that is affecting the speed.  Has anyone used a crockpot
> >> to warm the solution?
> >>
>

"Fresh" 3% H2O2 will work.
The problem is that once the bottle is opened the H2O2 starts to degrade and
weaken. Almost anything will cause the H2O2 to disassociate into H2O and O2.
Thus slowing down the etching process.

For the record, the Sally Beauty H2O2 is sold as 20, 30 and 40 volume H2O2,
not actually percent.

Myc

On Fri, Sep 12, 2008 at 6:25 AM, billshat44 <billshat44@...> wrote:

>   *** Update ***
> I did some research for a formula using H202 (Hydrogen Peroxide) and
> HCL (Hydrochloric Acid or Muriatic Acid)and found out that I was using
> too weak of H2O2 at 3%. I had tried 3 times to etch a board using the
> weaker H2O2 and had success twice but it took an extremely long time.
> In deja.com, I looked for "etching recipe" and
> found out there were different strengths of H2O2 available. After
> trying several different outlets (drug stores, medical houses,beauty
> salons) I found a place called Sally Beauty Supply that carries
> several different strengths of peroxide (20%,30%, and 40%) in
> different sized containers (quart half gallon, gallon.)
> They also sell acetone in plastic jugs which will make it easier to
> get into instead of the pry cap on the metal cans. Anyway, I came
> home, mixed up 2 peroxide to 1 HCL and put my 6X4 board in. 10
> minutes later, I had an etched board. Yipee. It was fun to watch the
> board etch away. Halfway through the etching process, it started to
> develop oxygen (I think). Air would develop on the bottom of the
> board in the etching solution and bring the board to the surface. The
> air would burp out from the edges of the board and it would sink
> again. It did this for a 2 or 3 minutes. During the last minute of
> etching, you could see the copper literally being melted off of the
> board. I feel much better now knowing that I can etch boards in a
> more timely manner. I was beginning to think there was something
> wrong with me that I couldn't etch a board quickly using the HCL, H202
> method like everyone else in this group.
> --- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com <Homebrew_PCBs%40yahoogroups.com>,
> "Stefan Trethan"
> <stefan_trethan@...> wrote:
> >
> > Please note that HCl has a low boiling point (somewhere just above
> > 50°C). You do not want to heat this etchant too much.
> >
> > ST
> >
> > On Sat, Sep 6, 2008 at 7:31 PM, billshat44 <billshat44@...> wrote:
> > > Update...It finished at 11:00. Barely any copper came off in the
> > > first 30 minutes, but then the etching made noticeable progress. It
> > > must be the cool temperature. By the way, the crock pot that I am
> > > thinking about using is a crock pot that I use for cleaning model
> > > airplane engines, not making a yankee pot roast.
> > >
> > > --- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com <Homebrew_PCBs%40yahoogroups.com>,
> "billshat44" <billshat44@>
> wrote:
> > >>
> > >> I am currently etching a PCB with 2 parts peroxide to 1 part muriatic
> > >> acid. It is cloudy and cool here and I am doing it outside to avoid
> > >> the fumes. It seems like it is taking forever. I'm assuming it
> is the
> > >> temperature that is affecting the speed. Has anyone used a crockpot
> > >> to warm the solution?
> > >>
> >
>
>  
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Thanks for your reply.  The H202 that I used was fresh right out of a
new bottle of peroxide. I do not know why it didn't work for me as
quickly as it do for you.  Also thank you for correcting me on the
percentage versus the volume of peroxide. That was what I was led to
believe.  At any rate, my etching time has dropped considerably.


--- In Homebrew_PCBs@...m, "Myc Holmes" <mycroft2152y@...>
wrote:
>
> "Fresh" 3% H2O2 will work.
> The problem is that once the bottle is opened the H2O2 starts to
degrade and
> weaken. Almost anything will cause the H2O2 to disassociate into H2O
and O2.
> Thus slowing down the etching process.
> 
> For the record, the Sally Beauty H2O2 is sold as 20, 30 and 40
volume H2O2,
> not actually percent.
> 
> Myc
> 
> On Fri, Sep 12, 2008 at 6:25 AM, billshat44 <billshat44@...> wrote:
> 
> >   *** Update ***
> > I did some research for a formula using H202 (Hydrogen Peroxide) and
> > HCL (Hydrochloric Acid or Muriatic Acid)and found out that I was using
> > too weak of H2O2 at 3%. I had tried 3 times to etch a board using the
> > weaker H2O2 and had success twice but it took an extremely long time.
> > In deja.com, I looked for "etching recipe" and
> > found out there were different strengths of H2O2 available. After
> > trying several different outlets (drug stores, medical houses,beauty
> > salons) I found a place called Sally Beauty Supply that carries
> > several different strengths of peroxide (20%,30%, and 40%) in
> > different sized containers (quart half gallon, gallon.)
> > They also sell acetone in plastic jugs which will make it easier to
> > get into instead of the pry cap on the metal cans. Anyway, I came
> > home, mixed up 2 peroxide to 1 HCL and put my 6X4 board in. 10
> > minutes later, I had an etched board. Yipee. It was fun to watch the
> > board etch away. Halfway through the etching process, it started to
> > develop oxygen (I think). Air would develop on the bottom of the
> > board in the etching solution and bring the board to the surface. The
> > air would burp out from the edges of the board and it would sink
> > again. It did this for a 2 or 3 minutes. During the last minute of
> > etching, you could see the copper literally being melted off of the
> > board. I feel much better now knowing that I can etch boards in a
> > more timely manner. I was beginning to think there was something
> > wrong with me that I couldn't etch a board quickly using the HCL, H202
> > method like everyone else in this group.
> > --- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com
<Homebrew_PCBs%40yahoogroups.com>,
> > "Stefan Trethan"
> > <stefan_trethan@> wrote:
> > >
> > > Please note that HCl has a low boiling point (somewhere just above
> > > 50°C). You do not want to heat this etchant too much.
> > >
> > > ST
> > >
> > > On Sat, Sep 6, 2008 at 7:31 PM, billshat44 <billshat44@> wrote:
> > > > Update...It finished at 11:00. Barely any copper came off in the
> > > > first 30 minutes, but then the etching made noticeable
progress. It
> > > > must be the cool temperature. By the way, the crock pot that I am
> > > > thinking about using is a crock pot that I use for cleaning model
> > > > airplane engines, not making a yankee pot roast.
> > > >
> > > > --- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com
<Homebrew_PCBs%40yahoogroups.com>,
> > "billshat44" <billshat44@>
> > wrote:
> > > >>
> > > >> I am currently etching a PCB with 2 parts peroxide to 1 part
muriatic
> > > >> acid. It is cloudy and cool here and I am doing it outside to
avoid
> > > >> the fumes. It seems like it is taking forever. I'm assuming it
> > is the
> > > >> temperature that is affecting the speed. Has anyone used a
crockpot

> > > >> to warm the solution?
> > > >>
> > >
> >
> >  
> >
> 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>